The District 12 Fighter
by n3rd gurl
Summary: This story will take place before Katniss goes into the Games. Alice and Liam are the chosen tributes form District 12. They know they are going to die, but they want to be remembered. Alice and Liam make the Capitol love them, but will they succeed in making a mark? Join them on their journey as they change the lives of those around them.


I ran outside my house and far away from my family. My mom didn't care for me. She only wanted food for herself. My dad was never home, always down in the mines trying to provide for us. He always gave the food to mom first, then to himself. If I was lucky I could eat what they were going to throw out. Dad was nicer to me than Mom was, but they both still hated me. My name was in the reaping bowl twice, that's all I could put in. I was starving, my parents ate everything we got. I was running away, or at least as far away as I could go without being killed.

I was breathing in harsh gasps, tears running down my face. My Mother had just screamed at me, and told me she never wanted me, that I was just a burden she had to carry. I lived in District 12. I wanted to die.

I usually ran away from my problems like this. My feet moved so fast under me, carrying me to the fence. The fence was never on, I just slipped out without trouble. I ran even faster. I was unaware of where I was going. I yelped as I hit someone and fell down on my back. I groaned, gasping for air to come to my lungs.

A man leaned over me. I knew most people in town, and this was Gale. He hunted for his family and loved them, must be nice. He mumbled an apology as he helped me up. I swiped tears from my eyes as he looked at me with pity. I swung away from him and ran back to town, not wanting him to feel sorry for me.

If my parents weren't going to let me have food, then I needed to find it myself. Once I was far away from Gale, I stopped and looked around. Gale and Katniss set traps and hunted for animals, I could do the same. I spent hours trudging through the woods, until I spotted a rabbit hanging by his foot from a tree. I would steal the food they caught. I took the rabbit and consumed it, the first food I had had in weeks.

I crossed back into town, I walked past a group of kids my age or older. Immediately, they started calling me names. I could handle names, but when this one kid named Isaac started pulling at my braid, I acted. Isaac and his gang stood around me pinching me and leaving little bruises on my arms.

I saw someone walking toward us, ready to top any fight that might break out. I turned to Isaac and said, "Touch me again and I swear you will regret it."

"What you gonna do?" Isaac stuck his long pointed nose into the air. I saw my chance. I grabbed his nose and twisted it completely around, breaking it. His two friends ganged up on me, but I grabbed one of their wrists and twisted them in front of me. I pushed one boy into the other, knocking them both to the ground. The 'someone' I had seen moving before was the bakers son. He grabbed me and pulled me away from the boys. I didn't need to worry about them anymore, they wouldn't even glance up at me ever again.

The days dragged on and I finally realized that I was slowly dying from lack of food. I couldn't keep taking it form Gale, and I couldn't hunt on my own. One day as I sat by a rotting tree, I watched in hatred as the baker boy through burnt bread to Katniss, his secret love. I could tell he liked her, but she never even acknowledged his existence. I, however, was stuck with eating garbage I found on the street.

That night I went to sleep outside. I woke up to my mother yelling at me to get dressed for the reaping. I did as I was told. I braided my hair back and got in line with the other kids, waiting patiently for the names to me called.

I can't live like this anymore, I wouldn't make it. I will volunteer, I thought. If I volunteer my death will be fast, I won't suffer.

Effie Trinket crossed the stage, her words didn't process inside my head. I just stared and waited. Finally, she played the video they showed every year, then she drew the girl name. I was ready to volunteer for the lucky winner, but I never had to.

"Alice Fisher."

My name rang in my ears. I knew this was being recorded and showed to the capitol. I stepped out and climbed onto the stage, my chin held high.

"Liam Donalds."

I watched the 16 year old boy step onto the stage. He didn't seem scared like they usually did, he looked prepared. Prepared for the worst.

And that was the moment I met my best, first, and possibly only friend.

* * *

><p>I was put into a small room where I could say goodbye to anyone that came to wish me luck on my death trip. My dad came in, he looked at me with sadness in his eyes. Without saying a word he handed me a piece of bread and left.<p>

I suppose he was trying to say sorry, but I didn't care. I wouldn't eat anything he gave me. Not anymore. I was about to be fed anything I wanted. I would eat until I couldn't eat anymore. Then, maybe my mother would feel like I had felt. She would want just one piece of bread, but this time I held it out of her reach, not the other way around. My mother never came to me, not even to yell at me one last time.

I walked onto the train with Liam. We were on our own now, me and him. Our mentor would not be helping us, too drunk to even show up.

I ate all the food I could. I was shoving it all into my mouth, everything. "Easy. You're going to make yourself sick." Liam pulled me back away from the table.

"That's what I was hoping for, actually." I tried to jerk away and continue eating, but he held me still.

"Slow down. We need to talk." Ugh. I rolled my eyes and sat down in a booth across from him.

"Talk? About how we are going to die? About how we might as well enjoy ourselves while we can? We are from District 12. We _can't _win. Never, ever. I find it best if you accept that now, it makes it easier."

"We could win. Maybe. If we helped each other. I am older than you, I know that the people with more sponsors do better. So we just have to make the people like us."

I scoffed. "People don't really like me. Not really my thing." I stuffed a roll into my mouth.

"Act like yourself, well not exactly yourself, but almost. You are a tough kid that can kill someone with one cold stare. Make sure they know that. Make them see how tough and determined you are. You may be small, but you are clever and can fight."

I stared at him. He had hope in me. He wants me to leave a mark. He knew we were both going down, but he wanted us to be remembered. A small smile grew on my face. "We aren't going to be just a few kids that go down and are forgotten. We will fight for this, even if we fail." He smiled too. "Deal, Mentor." He shook my hand and let me eat all I wanted to eat. He would coach me, and himself. He was a smart kid. We both were.

What a shame we were going to die.


End file.
